Who are the hardest working men in the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB?

The Game Room
21

Sigh… it’s not “my idea,” it’s just my observation, based on many years as a sports fan.

Whenever sports fans start discussing, say, “the grittiest player in baseball,” guess wha? The people named tend to be white guys.

Why? Like it or not, a LOT of fans and reporters have always tended to assume that black guys have natural, physical gifts, whereas white guys succeed through “hard work” or “hustle” or “desire” or “grittiness.” I don’t know that David Eckstein is really any “grittier” or shows more “hustle” than any number of black players, but those are the words always applied to white guys like Eckstein.

I have not said or implied that black players don’t work damn hard. What I am pointing out is that fans and media usually seize on WHITE guys as “hard-working.”

There are all kinds of code words that pop up in different sports. If you read that an NBA player is “a gym rat,” you can usually guess (safely and correctly) that he’s white.

On the other hand, if you read that an NFL player is “articulate,” you can usually infer that he’s black (it’s as if reporters are astonished that college graduates can speak fluent English).

22

Whether or not it’s true, astorian is not the first person to make this observation. He’s not being some kind of reverse racist. But Kobe Bryant was one of the first people I thought of, too. He’s one of those guys who remains ridiculously determined to win despite having accomplished a lot. It seems like every year he puts off some surgery he ought to have because he wants to keep playing and winning, although that’s arguably not the smart choice.

I think almost all QBs have to be exceptionally hard workers or they don’t last very long. There is just so much study and preparation involved with playing that position, running an NFL offense and anticipating defensive strategies and things like that. JaMarcus Russell got tagged as a lazy guy and we all saw how that worked out. Some people say Donovan McNabb doesn’t work very hard anymore and his last couple of years have been terrible.

23

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard many football coaches talk about the need to get ‘more athletic’ or ‘more team speed’ as a euphemism for ‘not black enough’. Doesn’t mean it is right morally, figuratively or literally.